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If You Had My Love
"If You Had My Love" is the first single from Jennifer's debut album "On the 6." The song was written by Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins (who also produced the song), LaShawn Daniels & Cory Rooney. The song was serviced to radio in the United States on May 4, 1999 and is well-known for its voyeuristic music video. It is considered on her signature songs along with "Waiting For Tonight." Jennifer recorded her vocals for the song at Sony Music Studios in New York City and the song was later mixed by Tony Maserati at The Hit Factory in New York City and Larrabee Sound Studios in California. The backing vocalists on the song were Jennifer Karr & Larry Gold. Single Background According to R&B singer Chanté Moore, her song "If I Gave Love" was intended to be the second single from her album "This Moment Is Mine" which was released in March of 1999. The song was re-written by Darkchild with the same arrangement for Jennifer after Puff Daddy said that he wanted the song and as a result of this, Chanté's plans to release her song were shelved because the songs were almost identical. Reception A writer from NME noted that Jennifer "really comes into her own" on the "street-smart swingbeat winner" song. DVD Talk's Aaron Beierle praised the song as catchy, writing that it "showcases the singer's style well." Entertainment Weekly's Beth Johnson reviewed the song and pointed out: "Considering the dustbins filled with movie stars' vanity discs, why expect this actress' recording debut to be hit-bound? Well, surprise, surprise." She also wrote "Lopez lays down a silky groove, and the law ... on this Rodney Jerkins-masterminded, salsa-laced hip-hop. It hardly seems fair that she gets to sizzle on screen and on this slow-funk track." A writer from the Los Angeles Times wasn't as receptive of the song and stated that "non singer Jennifer Lopez's "If You Had My Love," which sounds like a Brandy Norwood or Monica reject." In 2011, MTV News' Jocelyn Vena of MTV News noted that the song was the beginning of her singing about love, stating: "Lopez has explored the topic of love since the start of her career, beginning with her first single, "If You Had My Love," a tune that questions the nature of her beau's affections." Music Video The music video for "If You Had My Love" was directed by Paul Hunter in April of 1999 and starred actor Adam Rodriguez. The video begins with the man (portrayed by Rodriguez) logging onto his personal computer—while prompted by a search bar—and enters the name "Jennifer Lopez", and is redirected to a website Jennifer Lopez Online. He clicks onto the link and is transported through the internet (which is displayed by special effects emulating binary numbers). After arriving, a figure in white walks across a room filled with cameras recording action: it turns out to be Jennifer in a hallway. From the privacy of his computer, the man then redirects to a new page where she is now seen in the living room and crawling over a table, and Jennifer is visibly aware of the cameras and viewers, waving at it at a point The man is not alone in his voyeuristic actions as patrons of an Internet café and a little girl logging in from her own computer, watches Jennifer who is streaming live on "Internet TV". The man then clicks on a room showing Jennifer singing in the bathroom while checking her reflection in the mirror. Worldwide, Jennifer's feed is being streamed live to a nightclub and to other users with laptops. The man then clicks on the dance option and is once again entered through the special effect binary. Jennifer then proceeds to perform a series of dances (including jazz, house, and Latin soul) as the song moves into a remixed (Pablo Flores Remix) portion. The man then zooms in on Jennifer's skirt, as she dances to Latin music. He then raises the sexual intonation again by requesting a scene in which Lopez is taking a shower (although she is never seen nude). Garage workers who had been watching this soon turn their heads to Jennifer and pay no attention to their burning car as they glue their eyes to the screen. A new user is introduced, and it is implied that he throws his computer underwater to "turn down the heat" (so to speak) and he then continues to watch Jennifer there. There was an alternate ending to the music video that featured Adam Rodriguez running his left hand under his shirt while sucking his fingers from his right hand as Jennifer stares at him through the camera in the shower. It was supposed to be part of the original director's cut serviced to MTV, but after Jennifer's manager, Benny Medina found the cyber-interaction between Jennifer & Adam too suggestive and controversial, it was removed and replaced with glam shots of Jennifer in front of a fan. Charts The song topped the charts in the United States, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway and Switzerland. The song was moderately successful in Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Spain and Sweden. Certifications "If You Had My Love" was certified Platinum in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Greece, Germany, Mexico and Spain. Category:Songs Category:Jennifer Lopez Category:Music